Nøstvet and Lihult cultures
Encyclopedia
The Nøstvet culture and the Lihult culture are two very similar Mesolithic
culture
s in Scandinavia
n prehistory derived from the earlier Fosna-Hensbacka culture
s. They are so varied and vaguely defined that they are rather a tradition
than an archaeological culture
.
The Nøstvet culture appeared around the Oslofjord
and along the Norwegian coast up to Trøndelag
, whereas the Lihult culture is found in Sweden
. Sometimes the Sandarna culture appears as the name of an intermediary form between the Swedish Hensbacka
and Lihult cultures. This name comes from a settlement near Gothenburg
(approximately 7000 BC–5000 BC).
The Nøstvet people lived on open settlements. They used honed axes and microlith
s of various rocks, such as quartz
, quartzite
and flint
. They lived primarily of hunting
various animals such as seafowl and marine mammals, in addition to fishing
and gathering
. The size of the settlements grows during time, which reflects an increase in population and a more sedentary lifestyle
.
In southern Scandinavia
, its neighbours were first the Kongemose culture
(roughly 6000 BC–5200 BC) and later on the Ertebølle culture
(about 5200 BC–4000 BC).
During the period 4000 BC–3200 BC, the Nøstvet and Lihult cultures are succeeded by the Funnelbeaker
and the Pitted Ware culture
s and disappear from the archaeological record.
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
culture
Archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...
s in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n prehistory derived from the earlier Fosna-Hensbacka culture
Fosna-Hensbacka culture
The Fosna/Hensbacka ,or , were two very similar Late Palaeolithic/early Mesolithic cultures in Scandinavia, and are often subsumed under the name Fosna-Hensbacka culture. This complex includes the Komsa culture that, notwithstanding different types of tools, is also considered to be a part of the...
s. They are so varied and vaguely defined that they are rather a tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
than an archaeological culture
Archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...
.
The Nøstvet culture appeared around the Oslofjord
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
and along the Norwegian coast up to Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
, whereas the Lihult culture is found in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Sometimes the Sandarna culture appears as the name of an intermediary form between the Swedish Hensbacka
Fosna-Hensbacka culture
The Fosna/Hensbacka ,or , were two very similar Late Palaeolithic/early Mesolithic cultures in Scandinavia, and are often subsumed under the name Fosna-Hensbacka culture. This complex includes the Komsa culture that, notwithstanding different types of tools, is also considered to be a part of the...
and Lihult cultures. This name comes from a settlement near Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
(approximately 7000 BC–5000 BC).
The Nøstvet people lived on open settlements. They used honed axes and microlith
Microlith
A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. It is produced from either a small blade or a larger blade-like piece of flint by abrupt or truncated retouching, which leaves a very typical piece of waste,...
s of various rocks, such as quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
and flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. They lived primarily of hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
various animals such as seafowl and marine mammals, in addition to fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and gathering
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
. The size of the settlements grows during time, which reflects an increase in population and a more sedentary lifestyle
Sedentary lifestyle
Sedentary lifestyle is a medical term used to denote a type of lifestyle with no or irregular physical activity. A person who lives a sedentary lifestyle may colloquially be known as a couch potato. It is commonly found in both the developed and developing world...
.
In southern Scandinavia
Oresund Region
The Øresund or Öresund Region is a transnational region in northern Europe, centred on the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö. Located by the shores of the Øresund strait and connected by the Oresund Bridge, the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand constitute the Danish side, while Skåne...
, its neighbours were first the Kongemose culture
Kongemose culture
The Kongemose culture was a mesolithic hunter-gatherer culture in southern Scandinavia ca. 6000 BC–5200 BC and the origin of the Ertebølle culture. It was preceded by the Maglemosian culture...
(roughly 6000 BC–5200 BC) and later on the Ertebølle culture
Ertebølle culture
The Ertebølle culture is the name of a hunter-gatherer and fisher, pottery-making culture dating to the end of the Mesolithic period. The culture was concentrated in Southern Scandinavia, but genetically linked to strongly related cultures in Northern Germany and the Northern Netherlands...
(about 5200 BC–4000 BC).
During the period 4000 BC–3200 BC, the Nøstvet and Lihult cultures are succeeded by the Funnelbeaker
Funnelbeaker culture
The Funnelbeaker culture, short TRB from Trichterbecherkultur is the principal north central European megalithic culture of late Neolithic Europe.- Predecessor and successor cultures :...
and the Pitted Ware culture
Pitted Ware culture
The Pitted Ware culture was a hunter-gatherer culture in southern Scandinavia, mainly along the coasts of Svealand, Götaland, Åland, north-eastern Denmark and southern Norway. Despite its Mesolithic economy, it is by convention classed as Neolithic, since it falls within the period in which...
s and disappear from the archaeological record.